CONTEXT: Acute pancreatitis can be triggered by a variety of factors ranging from short lasting to sustained disruptions. It is plausible that the characteristics and course of disease differ among etiologies. Data distinguishing characteristics of patients with pancreatitis of biliary, alcoholic, idiopathic or other origin are scarce and conflicting. OBJECTIVE: To compare patients' characteristics, baseline parameters on admission, and outcome in patients with an episode of acute pancreatitis in whom the etiology was thoroughly determined...

CONTEXT: Late consequences of acute pancreatitis have received little attention. It is controversial whether the pancreas fully recovers after an episode of acute pancreatitis, especially in the presence of necrosis. Therefore, the presence of late pancreatic dysfunction following acute necrotizing pancreatitis is uncertain and there are controversies about how it may affect long-term quality of life. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate pancreatic function and morphology, besides quality of life, in patients with prior acute necrotizing pancreatitis...

CONTEXT: Undifferentiated (spindle cell) carcinomas of the pancreas are rare anaplastic variants of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with a frequency of 2% of pancreatic exocrine tumors. Their clinicopathological features are limited and obtained by few previously case reports. We report a case of undifferentiated pancreatic carcinoma with a rare focal osteochondroid differentiation. CASE REPORT: A sixty-six-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for abdominal pain and nonspecific nausea for almost 40 days...

CONTEXT: Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is one of the most lethal malignancies worldwide. In patients with unresectable tumor there are several strategies of palliative chemotherapy, either gemcitabine based regimens or FOLFIRINOX, which is supposed to be most efficient but also most toxic. Hence, management of toxicity is crucial to perform a therapy consisting of FOLFIRINOX. CASE REPORT: We report on a 69-year-old female patient suffering from adenocarcinoma of the pancreatic tail with multiple liver metastases...

CONTEXT: Pancreaticoduodenectomy in partially-gastrectomized patients presents some peculiarities of the reconstructive phase. Above all, in B II and Roux-en-Y partial gastrectomies, a gastric re-resection with a redo gastrojejunal anastomosis should be avoided because it is often needlessly time-consuming and risky. In our series of 7 consecutive patients, either one of two reconstruction methods was used, depending upon the length of the pre-existing afferent loop. CASE REPORTS: In order to better illustrate this strategy, two cases of carcinoma of the duodenal papilla are reported...

CONTEXT: Cancer is a prothrombotic state and anticancer therapies are often complicated by vascular events. The risk of developing thromboembolic events is substantially increased in patients with pancreatic cancer. One possible presentation of vascular events in pancreatic cancer is disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC). CASE REPORT: In our case a patient with a diagnosis of pancreatic cancer initially presented with thrombosis and received low molecular weight heparin (LMWH) in addition to standard chemotherapy regimen...

CONTEXT: Levamisole-contaminated cocaine is an increasingly reported cause of vasculitis and immunologic abnormalities in cocaine abusers. The systemic effects of vasculitis are commonly seen in the dermatologic, hematologic and renal systems but rarely the gastrointestinal system. CASE REPORT: We present an atypical case of cocaine-induced vasculitis presenting initially as an acute pancreatitis and then rapidly progressing to involve multi-organ systems over the next couple of weeks...

CONTEXT: Agenesis of the dorsal pancreas is a rare congenital anomaly which can be detected either incidentally during imaging or encountered during investigation for pancreas related pathologies such as pancreatitis or diabetes mellitus. Few associations of this condition with heterotaxy syndrome, pancreatic tumors and congenital heart disease have been described. CASE REPORT: We report a novel association of genitourinary anomalies in a case of complete dorsal pancreatic agenesis not previously described in the literature...

CONTEXT: Pancreaticoduodenectomy is the gold standard for patients with resectable periampullary carcinoma. The protection of the anastomosis by positioning of an intraluminal stent is a technique used to lower the frequency of anastomotic fistulas. However the use of anastomotic stents is still debated and stent related complications are reported. CASE REPORT: A fifty-three-year old male underwent pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for a T2N0 periampullary carcinoma with a pancreaticojejunal (duct to mucosa) anastomosis protected by a free floating 6 Fr Nelaton stent in the Wirsung duct...

CONTEXT: The potential of lazaroid U-74389G in attenuating injury after ischemia and reperfusion has been reported in various organs. OBJECTIVE: The present study focuses specifically on the pancreas and aims to examine any effects of U-74389G in a swine model of pancreatic ischemia and reperfusion, encompassing ischemic preconditioning. METHODS: Twelve pigs, weighing 28-35 kg, were randomized into two experimental groups. Group A (control group, n=6): Two periods of ischemic preconditioning (5 min each) separated by a 5-min rest interval; then ischemia time 30 min and reperfusion for 120 min...

CONTEXT: Although unripe plantain (Musa paradisiaca) and ginger (Zingiber officinale) are used as single plants to manage diabetes mellitus in Nigeria, the possibility of combining them in a typical diabetic diet and the glycemic response elicited as a result of such combination has not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of unripe plantain and ginger on serum total proteins, albumin, creatinine and urea levels of streptozotocin induced diabetic rats...

CONTEXT: The surgical treatment of necrotizing pancreatitis includes percutaneous drainage of acute necrotic collections and sequestrectomy in the late phase of the disease. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to compare the conventional open necrosectomy (CON) approach with the alternative focused open necrosectomy (FON) approach in patients with infected necrosis and progression of sepsis. METHODS: Patients with acute necrotizing pancreatitis were included in the study prospectively from January 2004 to July 2014...

CONTEXT: Molecular analysis of pancreatic cyst fluid obtained by EUS-FNA may increase diagnostic accuracy. We evaluated the utility of cyst-fluid molecular analysis, including mutational analysis of K-ras, loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at tumor suppressor loci, and DNA content in the diagnoses and surveillance of pancreatic cysts. METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the Columbia University Pancreas Center database for all patients who underwent EUS/FNA for the evaluation of pancreatic cystic lesions followed by surgical resection or surveillance between 2006-2011...

Crohn's disease, a transmural inflammatory bowel disease, has many well-known extra-intestinal manifestations and complications. Although acute pancreatitis has a higher incidence in patients with Crohn's disease as compared to the general population, acute pancreatitis is still relatively uncommon in patients with Crohn's disease. Patients with Crohn's disease are at an approximately fourfold higher risk than the general population to develop acute pancreatitis. The risk of developing acute pancreatitis is higher in females as compared to males...

The objective of this review is to summarize the current state of the art of the management of necrotizing pancreatitis, and to clarify some confusing points regarding the terminology and diagnosis of necrotizing pancreatitis, as these points are essential for management decisions and communication between providers and within the literature. Acute pancreatitis varies widely in its clinical presentation. Despite the publication of the Atlanta guidelines, misuse of pancreatitis terminology continues in the literature and in clinical practice, especially regarding the local complications associated with severe acute pancreatitis...